Current business process execution engines adopt the sequential cycle of Define-Execute-Improve for processes, without the ability to change the process model (in terms of actions identified, as well as the sequence of actions) during a process execution. However, many business processes require adaptation of the process logic as the process is executed, by observing new data from the world.
There are many business processes that are described in unstructured information sources, and manually executed. Handling and managing work (processes) conventionally involves interaction among employees, systems and devices. Interactions occur over email, chat, and messaging apps. Descriptions exist for processes, procedures, policies, laws, rules, regulations, plans, external entities (such as customers, partners and government agencies), surrounding world, news, social networks, etc. In many cases, especially with so-called “Knowledge-intensive Processes (KiP's)”, there may be substantial variation between different enactments of a process, in terms of the steps actually performed and the sequencing of those steps. Furthermore, the continued inclusion of ever-changing external information into processing decisions and steps makes it impossible to use conventional business processing approaches to specify in advance a conventional business process management (BPM) model that all of the process enactments will follow.